Dictionary.com uncovers presidential candidates' favorite words

OAKLAND, Calif., February 29, 2016 – As front-runners for the Democratic and Republican nominations continue on the campaign trail, Dictionary.com unveils Your Candidate in a Word, a compelling look at the language favored by the current top presidential hopefuls. Based on analysis of the major presidential debates, one word has risen to the top for each nominee: systemic (Hillary Clinton), utterly (Ted Cruz), blue-collar (John Kasich), apocalyptic (Marco Rubio), handful (Bernie Sanders), and eminent (Donald Trump).

Through proprietary big data analysis from 15 main presidential debates, which took place between August 6, 2015 and February 13, 2016, Dictionary.com analyzed the language used by each candidate to identify the 20 words that were most statistically significant in each contender's speech.

Below are the top 10 words or phrases favored by each candidate in Dictionary.com's analysis:

0PHOTOS

Presidential candidates' favorite works (Dictionary.com)

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Dictionary.com uncovers presidential candidates' favorite words

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While a number of the candidates' word representations relate to major issues and campaign platforms, such as Clinton on LGBT matters and Rubio on Guantanamo, just as many are adjectives that paint a clear picture of each candidate's speaking style and vocabulary.

"Every idea and belief, down to the level of the individual words chosen, counts when it comes to candidates speaking to Americans on their plans for the country if they were to be elected," said Liz McMillan, CEO, Dictionary.com. "These words shed light on the issues, policies, and rhetoric of individual candidates on an extremely granular level, ultimately giving us valuable insight on the people vying to be the next President of the United States."